Atari files for bankruptcy

[maflynn]

I didn't see this coming - sad to see such a pioneering company fall by the wayside.

Endgadget

Atari Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection, looking to separate from its not-so-profitable French owners and pitch for independent funding. In the process, the elder statesman of gaming has secured $5.25 million of debtor-in-possession financing and will aim to sell assets, including its famous logo (which is already licensed out) and games like Pong, Asteroid and Tempest, in the next 90 to 120 days. In the last few years, Atari Inc. has shifted its focus from traditional retail gaming to digital titles and licensing, with mobile platforms proving especially lucrative for the parent company, Atari SA. The gaming arm is aiming for a return to former glory and, it hopes, the chance to go another 40 years.

I remember getting an Atari 2600 as a kid and playing hours upon hours of space invaders

 

[S.B.G]

That's too bad. I hate to see such long time, well established and good companies go down like this.

 

[decafjava]

I remember getting an Atari 2600 as a kid and playing hours upon hours of space invaders

Ditto, same system and same game. Wow.

 

[GermanyChris]

Holy Crap!!

I didn't know they were doing that bad!

 

[Magicceilingfan]

Atari has not been around for a long, long time. This is a French company originally known as Infograms who bought the Atari name. The real Atari was shut down and dismantled in the 90s.

 

[Mr. McMac]

I had the Atari 2600, 5200, and a 7800 in my youth. Also, my first computer was an Atari 800 with an external floppy drive. Sad to see them go

 

[NewAnger]

I was never lucky enough to get an Atari. for Christmas that year, we got a video game that could only play pong. Of course since it was a off brand, it wasn't called pong.

 

[50548]

Ditto, same system and same game. Wow.

Ditto here; spent many wonderfully fun hours playing those games with cousins (the richer cousin had an original 2600, I had a clone called Dactari) and friends during my childhood in Brazil...hopefully the software division will be kept afloat somehow.

 

[KnightWRX]

Sad to see them go

This is just chapter 11, they aren't gone yet. Companies can and do survive chapter 11 bankruptcies which is just a court protected restructuration while the company gets into a profitable mode again (usually by getting rid of toxic assets or concentrating on profitable sectors it operates in while leaning out the rest of the operation).

In this case, it sounds like Atari's parent company is to blame, so they probably filed chapter 11 in hopes that some other investors buys the actual Atari side of the business and runs it sucessfully rather than staying dependant on a failing parent.

 

[rbrian]

Atari were still going? Who knew! Next you'll tell me IBM and Sega are still around...

 

[LethalWolfe]

Yeah, this really isn't the Atari of old as the Atari name/brand has been bought and sold numerous times over the years.

Atari were still going? Who knew! Next you'll tell me IBM and Sega are still around...

If stock price is any indication IBM is doing great though Sega never rebounded after the Dreamcast was EOL'ed.